Aaron Glenn didn’t dodge the questions about Frank Reich. He went straight at them, and his answer came with a dose of realism.
“I think he’s done a good job, I really do. Obviously, there are a number of things that we can improve on…from short-yardage and the two-minute.
But that also goes on me also when it comes to the defensive side, me and [coordinator Brian] Duker on some things that we have to get better at, too.”
There are reasons the Jets offense hasn’t looked clean, and injuries sit at the top of the list. At various points this season, New York has been without its RB1, WR2, WR3, LG1 and TE1, and the season is only six games old.
Still, the numbers are ugly. The Jets are 27th in scoring at 18.9 points per game, dead last in red-zone touchdown rate at 37.50%, and 25th on third downs at 35.06%. They’ve also been outscored 23-0 in the final two minutes of the first half this season, and 100-6 in that same stretch dating back to the start of 2025.
The struggles show up everywhere. New York ranks 23rd in pressure allowed at 23.4%, 23rd in rushing yards before contact with 315, 24th in average depth of target at 6.8, 23rd in passing yards per game and 23rd in rushing yards per game.
In that light, this offense is tracking toward a season that could match or even outdo the 2025 group led by Justin Fields, Brady Cook and Tanner Engstrand. It is averaging one more point per game than that unit, but it has been worse where it matters most in the red zone. Last year’s team converted 44.74% of its trips into touchdowns; this one is at 37.50%.
There’s still a belief that the offense could eventually open up, especially with two games against the Dolphins and two against the Bills still ahead. The Bills are expected to put up points, but their defense is also one of the worst in football, so there should be chances for New York too.
The hope is that once the offense gets healthy, the real version of this group finally shows up. For now, through six games, the Jets have been brutal.
That’s a lot for the staff to clean up, and at least there won’t be extra noise from Woody Johnson. The owner declined to speak to reporters when he arrived at the owners meeting, which feels like the right call.
There was nothing he could have said that wouldn’t have made things messier. Maybe he’s learning.
The Jets, meanwhile, open the week as 4.5-point favorites over the Dolphins on Sunday, which does not exactly inspire confidence.
The national rankings are all over the map, but the general theme is clear: nobody is fooled. The Athletic nudged New York down to No. 23 and highlighted Omar Cooper Jr.’s fantasy value, noting that the rookie wideout had barely been involved until he returned on Sunday and exploded for six catches, 103 yards and a score in New England. ESPN held the Jets at No. 25 and zeroed in on the team’s awful red-zone numbers, calling them the NFL’s worst offense near the goal line and pointing to Geno Smith’s red-zone struggles.
USA Today kept New York at No. 26 and described the team as “competent and even slightly entertaining,” while also saying the young players will need to keep developing if the Jets are going to rise. Yahoo slid them from No. 27 to No. 29 after the loss to the Patriots, citing the four losses in the last five games and the pressure on Frank Reich.
CBS left them at No. 25 and pointed to the possibility of a 3-4 record if they beat Miami, along with the growing contributions from young players. Sports Illustrated moved them up to No. 24, focusing on Aaron Glenn’s halftime interview moment, and Fox Sports dropped them to No. 28 while warning that the frustration could get a lot louder if Miami beats them at MetLife Stadium.
Even in the middle of all that frustration, Cooper Jr. is worth keeping in view. The rookie lasted only five plays in his NFL debut against the Titans, but he made his lone target count with a 30-yard catch that included 26 yards after the catch and set up Sadiq’s opening score.
That kind of yardage after the catch was no accident. Cooper made a habit of it at Indiana, where 494 of his 937 receiving yards in his final season came after the catch. In all, 42% of his college production came that way.
An injury on that first NFL reception sent him to IR and kept him out for the next four games, so his return against New England mattered. What he did next was one of the best rookie performances of the season: 7 targets, 6 catches, 103 yards, 1 touchdown, 17.2 yards per reception and 1 touchdown called back.
A first look at one of those grabs showed exactly why he matters. Reich doesn’t use motion much, but he got Cooper moving before the snap early in the second quarter against the Patriots. The protection held, New England stayed in zone, and Cooper slipped behind the coverage for a 20-yard catch.
In Other News...
Jets Fans Just Got A Hopeful Reminder From The Knicks
For a franchise that has spent years trying to crawl out of its own long-running slump, the Knicks rise has to feel oddly familiar around Florham Park. New York spent the better part of two decades waiting for the basketball team to matter again, and now the citys other green-and-white tenant has a fresh example of what patience, steadier leadership and a real turnaround can eventually look like.
The Jets have not won a Super Bowl or a playoff game since 2011, and the losing seasons have piled up in the years since, but this season has offered a few signs that the tide might finally be shifting. Whether the current progress turns into something lasting is still the open question, and the next stretch of games will say a lot about whether this looks like a brief uptick or the start of something closer to the Knicks late-arriving breakthrough. [Read more 🡒]
Aaron Glenn Had To Explain A Strange Jets Sideline Mix-Up
Aaron Glenn spent part of Monday explaining a small but notable sideline mix-up from halftime, one that caught attention because it came in the middle of a game day interview. During the break, the Jets coach made a statement suggesting New York would receive the second-half kickoff, even though that did not happen.
When asked about it the next day, Glenn moved quickly to clarify what he meant, saying he was speaking more broadly about the offense needing to sustain drives rather than the specific kickoff situation. The explanation was reported by multiple outlets, and the moment was brief, but it was the kind of detail that can linger when a team is still trying to clean up its communication as much as its play. [Read more 🡒]
Garrett Wilson Trade Chatter Says Everything About The Jets Direction
With the trade deadline approaching, the Jets are once again facing the kind of conversation that tends to follow a team still trying to define its direction. Garrett Wilson sits at the center of it, not because the Jets have said they are shopping him, but because his name is the kind that quickly attracts attention when a contender starts sniffing around for help at receiver. It is a reminder that even a player who has become one of the most recognizable parts of the roster can end up in the middle of deadline noise if the bigger picture starts to shift.
Russell Wilson recently added to the speculation by pointing to Kansas City as the most obvious landing spot if the Jets ever chose to move Garrett Wilson. For New York, the chatter lands in a complicated place because Wilson has repeatedly made it clear he wants to stay put. Still, trade season has a way of turning sentiment into business, and if the Jets start entertaining calls, it would say plenty about where they think they are headed. [Read more 🡒]